You read my five tips to get ready for Real Estate Connect NYC, and I hope they helped you. There were so many incredible speakers; I would say it has to be one of the best Connects I have attended. Watching the rally of everyone trying to beat Juno, the fun snow day we had, and the fabulous dinners and conversations shaped my experience. I had so many takeaways, but here are the top five I want to share with you:

1. Attitude is gratitude.

As an industry, we have been known to make it all about us. We’ll know we see the pendulum swing to gratitude when we start making it about our clients and their experiences. We are showcasing their homes and telling their stories. In doing that, we are creating raving fans. You see, when we have gratitude, we have an abundance of it. Out of the abundance, we serve with grateful hearts, and we do a better job. So as we reshape the industry, it is my goal to be a leader in gratitude and to give to the people and industry I am proud of, real estate. (Thank you, Sarah Jones, for the reminder.)

2. Authenticity is key.

Barbara Corcoran spoke to the value of authenticity and using it to assess strengths and weaknesses. Perception is not reality. We as an industry need to strive for authenticity so that we can remove the stereotypes that plague our industry. I, for one, want to be known for my level of service and intelligence. Only in authenticity can we change the perception by doing the hard work it takes.

I love the buzzword “indie.” The collaboration of the indie brokers is excellent. They share what they do to raise the IQ, from telling stories and shooting video, to paperless agents, to training and educating Thor agents, to how they adapt to the ever-changing market. They show how being a speedboat truly helps them navigate the waters much more smoothly.

4. Global reach is crucial.

Connect is an international conference with global reach. Why is this important? Because our world has changed. Our sellers expect us to market worldwide just as well as we do nationally. We are seeing people move around the world more frequently, and we want to provide them with recommendations for a great experience no matter where they go. Having connections with agents around the world makes it easy to have a global footprint. Inman is the place to start those relationships. Plus, I met agents from Africa, London and Australia

5. Keep the conversation going.

I made many great new connections. I would encourage you to follow up and keep in touch with everyone you met. I came home with hundreds of business cards. I am using an app to get them all in my database as fast as I can. I want to keep the conversation going. So if you have that stack on your desk, I encourage you to make the most of Connect, contact everyone you met and build a relationship. It will make your next conference even better.

Connect has helped me to the path I am on. So if you didn’t make it to ICNY, I hope you will register for ICSF. Many of you watched the live stream — let me tell you, it is a thousand times better in real life. Book now while the price is low. You won’t regret it!